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Aliens
Aliens is one of the three pinball tables in the Aliens vs. Pinball mini table pack, released in 2016 and available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3. It is based on the 1986 film Aliens, directed by James Cameron. This sequel to the 1979 film Alien sees Ellen Ripley joining a squad of Colonial Marines on a dangerous mission to investigate Hadley's Hope, a colony on the planet LV-246, exterminate a Xenomorph infestation there and rescue anyone who survived their attacks. Table overview The upper half of the table and mini-playfield The table is framed after the interior hallways of Hadley's Hope, the colony established on the planet LV-426. A large figure of the Alien Queen is rooted to the back of the table, which is covered in Alien cocooned webbing used to construct Xenomorph hives. Three Alien eggs are placed on the back left corner of the table and a raised mini-playfield where three more could be planted is present on the opposite corner, representing the Alien hive. A reverse habitrail scoop drops the ball inside this mini-playfield, which contains a miniloop near where the ball enters it. On one side of the barrier that isolates the loop are three targets, and three similar targets line the left wall of the mini-playfield. All six targets spell RIPLEY, and eggs can grow in the space between the two clusters of targets. A right flipper is positioned to the bottom-right portion of the mini-playfield, which also has a jutted-out outhole habitrail that drops it down onto a longer habitrail that leads the ball into the right inlane. The back left corner of the mini-playfield also contains a saucer that can trap the ball. A large orbit wraps around the table. The left side of the orbit is marked with the name VASQUEZ. A crosslane with a flag midway through it leads into the right side of the orbit, bringing the ball counter-clockwise through it, while the right entry of the orbit has three bumpers in front of it, making it difficult to make a clear shot through it, and to the right of these bumpers is a sinkhole directly at the right inner wall of the table. To the left of the large orbit's apex is a small side area that the ball will drop into if a weak counter-clockwise shot is made into the orbit, passing through one of three rollovers that spell EGG before cutting back into the left entry of the orbit. Besides the left orbit is a ramp marked with the name HUDSON, which takes a brief U-turn onto a habitrail leading into the left inlane. To the right of this ramp is a figure of Ripley, with a magnetic trap and a target positioned in front of her. To the right of this figure is a diverter ramp that sends the ball down either of the two abovementioned long habitrails that lead the ball into either inlane. Between this diverter ramp and the crosslane is another ramp dedicated to HICKS, which arcs the ball back into the left orbit. Throughout the upper half of the table, there are five out of seven total target posts that spell BISHOP. A mini-flipper is embedded onto the left wall of the large orbit's left entry, and two targets line the left side of the leftmost bumper. The lower half of the table In front of the left mini-flipper is a miniloop with a rollover switch that the ball will hit once it crosses its apex, which will raise a post that briefly locks the ball inside the miniloop. The miniloop exit will bring the ball through the left outlane and into the left inlane via a special one-way gate separating the two. A sinkhole is placed in front of the leftmost bumper, to the left of the right orbit. To the right of that orbit entrance is another ramp that spells BURKE. It can take the ball through either of two paths through a gate system: a short, looping path that returns it to the long, right habitrail going to the right inlane, or a longer, straight ramp leading into the entrance of the hive mini-playfield. The final two of seven target posts that spell BISHOP flank the rampm's entrance. A short, curved one-way, downhill ramp is directly next to Burke's ramp, which drops the ball into the mini-playfield after being launched from the plunger. There are four return lanes that spell NEWT, two rebounds and two flippers at the bottom of the table. Each outlane has a subway kickback that represents escape vents that could be found in the colony. The dead space contains a motion tracker that displays the formation of Alien drop targets during a battle against them. The left apron contains a pop-up UA-571C sentry gun that can fire on those drop targets, while the right apron has a M577 APC that can travel off the table for a special minigame, as well as load new balls into the plunger. The plunger The plunger is a typical, spring-loaded one that fires the ball up a short, straight path that drops it onto a down-slanted curved ramp running parallel to the beginning of Burke's ramp that will bring the ball into play. If the ball is shot too strong, it instead drops into a hole. Lamps for the bonus multipliers are positioned to the left of the shaft. The player is challenged to execute a skill shot by shooting the ball with just enough strength, as measured by a power meter on the scoring display, such that the ball rolls down the curved ramp and directly onto the right inlane. The score for a skill shot increases every time both targets on the left bumper are struck. Objective and Missions The goal of the table is to relive the events of the film Aliens by helping Ellen Ripley and a squad of Colonial Marines investigate Xenomorph attacks at Hadley's Hope, rescue any survivors and fend off any dangerous Xenomorphs encountered, as well as their queen, through six main missions. To start a mission, the player must hit the magnetic saucer in front of Ripley three times. While the player can choose to complete the missions in any order, they may choose to play out each mission in sequential order at the start of a session, in which hitting the saucer three times immediately begins one of the six missions in the order represented in the film. Each mission can only be attempted once until the wizard mode is started. *'Signals Detected': When the squad first arrives at the colony, they detect Xenomorph movement, as well as the presence of a young girl named Newt, who somehow survived their ruthless onslaughts. The player helps the team find her by shooting different lit lanes within a time limit. Once she is found, the player guides the team onto an M577 APC to advance deeper into the colony by shooting either of two sinkholes near the bumper area, then controls the APC as it travels down a straight 3-lane path, dodging wreckage obstacles along the way by pressing the flipper buttons. If the vehicle hits 10 obstacles before reaching the destination, the mission will fail. Otherwise, once the destination is reached, the team falls under attack by Aliens and must protect the squad from them for 45 seconds before having to shoot either sinkhole again to get them back aboard the APC, which must be steered past obstacles once more to bring everyone to safety. *'Setting Up Defenses': The squad must prepare for another Xenomorph onslaught by setting up barriers and powerful UA-571C sentry guns throughout the colony's mazelike tunnels to deter their advances. With little time to spare, the player must help out by shooting five major lanes once to build the barriers and spinning the flag in the crosslane 40 times to set up the sentry gun. After these defenses are established, the defense systems are tested against an actual Xenomorph attack, which lasts for 45 seconds. This time, the sentry gun will automatically eliminate a good number of Xenormorphs before running out of ammunition. *'Ulterior Motives': Ripley suspects that Burke is planning to take Xenomorph facehuggers to try and breed biological weapons. She and Newt are trapped inside a lab with the facehuggers and must trigger a fire alarm to get marines to rescue her and destroy the creatures. To trigger the fire alarm, the player must shoot the magnetic saucer in front of Ripley so that she can set it on fire, then bring the flaming ball into the hive mini-playfield and use its flipper to lock the ball in the saucer at the back left corner. Once the fire alarm goes off, two balls representing the facehuggers will be shot into play, and the player helps the marines fighting them destroy them. To eliminate each facehugger, the player must shoot three lit lanes, which will activate a magnetic trap at the diverter lane that will trap one ball, allowing Ripley to incinerate it with her flamethrower. Destroying both facehuggers will complete the mission, while allowing either of such ball to drain results in its failure. At the end of the mission, the ball at the mini-playfield saucer will be released and dropped back into play. *'UD-4L Cheyenne': The team needs to get a dropship to escape the colony so that it can be nuked from orbit. The player helps Bishop remote pilot a dropship from the Sulaco, the Smart Ass, and bring it down to the planet's surface by shooting either of two lit lanes to move the dropship in the correct direction (left, straight or right) within brief time limits. *'They Cut the Power!': Before the squad can escape, the Xenomorphs find a way to cut electrical power and a hole in the defenses established for a renewed assault. The table will darken and glow red to reflect the power outage and the player will juggle two balls to combat another wave of Xenomorphs and hold them off for 90 seconds. The Sentry Gun will be available at the start of this mission. *'Vent Escape': In the ensuing chaos, Ripley seeks to bring Newt to safety at all costs as the Xenomorphs attack everywhere. The player helps her find an escape route by shooting a sequence of lit lanes while fending off a Xenomorph attack, then complete the escape by shooting either sinkhole. Attempting all 6 missions will unlock a final Wizard Mode titled The Final Countdown, which is started the same way as the main missions. In this mission, the player helps the squad weather one final Xenomorph attack for 45 seconds while awaiting escape via Bishop's dropship. During this time, the player must destroy three Xenomorph eggs in the hive mini-playfield by setting a ball on fire at the mission saucer, then taking the ball into the mini-playfield and hitting those eggs with it. Once all eggs are gone and the Xenomorph attack ends, a time-limited 4-ball victory multiball will start, where lit lanes can be shot for jackpots as the team is given an opportunity to attack the Xenomorph Queen just before Bishop arrives with the Smart Ass to evacuate everyone to safety. Super jackpots can be awarded for jackpot lanes hit with flaming balls, as they inflict more damage on the Queen. Once one minute passes, Bishop arrives to get everyone aboard the ship and escape the colony as it is destroyed, and the flippers will be disabled to automatically drain any remaining balls. Alien attacks In four of the six missions, the player will encounter a situation where Xenomorphs will attack in the form of drop targets that relentlessly move towards the flippers. Each drop target can be eliminated with one hit of the ball, or with the continuous fire of the UA-571C sentry gun (in any mission except the first one), as long as ammo for it is available. Any drop targets that get close to the flippers will disappear and inflict damage on the squad, decreasing its health, as indicated on the scoring display. Once health is fully depleted, the current mission will fail. The sentry gun can automatically thin out enemy drop targets to help the player, but has limited ammunition that must be replenished periodically by shooting the left miniloop. However, it is important to be aware that reloading takes some time. The amount of ammunition left in the gun, as well as how fast the ammunition depletes, can be seen on the scoring display. In the final mission, the Xenomorph attack will continue endlessly until the mission goal is met or squad health is fully depleted. In the three other missions, along with the wizard mode, the attack will have a time limit that must be exceeded to finish the mission (or unlock the final part of the first mission). Side modes There are two side modes that take place outside the main portion of the playing area: *'Hive Mini-Playfield': After successfully raising the score multiplier with five shots through Burke's ramp at the right, it will allow access to the hive mini-playfield. Once the ball is shot there, the player can shoot the saucer there to raise the jackpot for the final victory multiball. *'M577 APC Challenge': Succinct mastery of driving the M577 APC can come in handy for quick escapes from Xenomorphs. The player has a chance to sharpen up driving skills further by hitting the bumpers many times, then locking the ball into the sinkhole to the right of them. The ball will then be loaded inside the M577 APC, which drives off the table and down an endless straight 3-lane road littered with obstacles. The player must avoid the obstacles for as long as possible until the vehicle crashes 10 times. Multiball There is only one multiball mode for this table, called the Facehugger Multiball. This is a 3-ball multiball mode that starts when three balls are seized and eaten by the Alien Queen. In order for her to eat one, the player must spell EGG on the 3 rollovers at the large orbit, then shoot Hicks' ramp so that she can catch the ball. The multiball mode begins immediately once three balls are eaten while there is no mission active. Alternatively, if the final ball is locked during a mission, the multiball will begin if the player access the hive mini-playfield. During this mode, the player must complete the following procedure to earn a jackpot: 1) Shoot all lit lanes. 2) Set a ball on fire by locking it into the saucer in front of Ripley. 3) Shoot the diverter reverse scoop. The jackpot can be raised by spelling EGG on the rollovers again, or by shooting the diverter 3 times. This mode will continue as long as more than one ball is active. Perks During play, the player can earn various perks, mostly by spelling out the names of various characters. Several perks marked with an asterisk can only be awarded a limited number of times. Once such a perk is exhausted, any subsequent times the perk is awarded will instead be converted to a score bonus of typically 2,500,000. *'Ripley's Reward Increase': Ripley's fighting spirit can sometimes hold the colonial marines together and encourage them to accomplish their goals. Spelling her name at the mini-playfield raises the reward for successfully completing a mission.* *'Vasquez's Combat Logistics': Jenette Vasquez is a determined fighter willing to keep the squad's offense active. Spelling her name on the left orbit by shooting it 7 times will decrease the amount of time needed to reload the sentry gun, which is crucial to improve chances of surviving a Xenomorph attack.* *'Hudson's Bravado': Increase the amount of points scored for each Xenomorph defeated by spelling Private William Hudson's name with 6 shots into his ramp.* *'Hicks' Endurance': Increase the maximum squad health to allow for more punishment from Xenomorph attacks by spelling Hicks' name with 5 shots into his ramp.* *'Squad Defense': Spinning the flag in the crosslane 140 times will decrease the amount of damage inflicted by Xenomorph attacks, further improving the squad's survivability. *'Burke's Multiplier': Spell Burke's name with 5 shots through his ramp to raise the score multiplier and unlock an opportunity to raise the victory jackpot with access to the hive mini-playfield.* *'Bishop's Ball Saver': Bishop is crucial to evacuation of all personnel. Spelling his name on all 7 target posts throughout the table activates the 30-second ball saver, which activates at the start of a ball or multiball mode. *'Newt's Vent Escape': Owing to her small size as a young girl, Newt can reveal escape passages to evade Xenomorphs and danger. Spelling her name on the rollovers will activate a random escape vent subway kickback that will return the ball to a back part of the table when used. Kickbacks are only good for the current ball. *'Sentry Gun Reload/Random Reward:' The sentry gun is a godsend to embattled, hard-pressed Marines. Shooting its miniloop reloads it during a Xenomorph attack, but awards a random prize instead outside of one. Prizes may range to a small score boost or even an extra ball and are decided once the ball is briefly locked inside the loop with a pop-up post triggered by a rollover inside the loop. *'Flamethrower:' In certain modes, locking the ball at the saucer in front of Ripley will allow her to set it on fire. A flaming ball is crucial for certain missions and certain multiball modes. Be aware that flaming balls will become extinguished after a certain amount of time. *'Weapon Sinkhole:' The sinkhole in front of the left bumper provides powerful weapons that can be used against the Xenomorphs. Outside of a Xenomorph attack, shooting that sinkhole 3 times will increase the rate of fire of the sentry gun. During a Xenomorph attack, shooting that sinkhole 3 times will spawn a grenade that Ripley can toss into the playfield to instantly clear out any Xenomorphs there. *'Extra Balls': Extra balls can be awarded by defeating 100 Aliens with a burning ball, earning one from a random award at the Sentry Gun miniloop, earning the first jackpot in Facehugger Multiball, maxing out the score multiplier or beating the wizard mode for the first time. Extra balls are claimed at the abovementioned weapon sinkhole. Tips *Be careful when fending off a wave of Xenomorphs and try to hit them before they get too close to the flippers. Hitting ones that are very close to the flippers may result in the ball quickly bouncing into the outhole if you are not particularly cautious. Aim for the weapon sinkhole at the left bumper a few times during attack waves to get a grenade that can wipe out many drop targets and give you a breather. *You do not need to outlast Xenomorph attacks in the main missions, but you absolutely need to survive one in the wizard mode in order to win. Therefore, it is strongly advisable to try and earn as many perks as you can that improve your chances of surviving a Xenomorph attack and store them up in preparation for the final wave (namely reduced sentry gun reload time, faster sentry gun firing rate and extra squad health). *Since missions only need to be attempted to unlock the wizard mode, and draining the ball during a mission skips it, it is advisable to try and look for extra balls. One earnable extra ball is available from starting the Facehugger Multiball once and earning your first Jackpot there. You can also try your luck at earning another one via the sentry gun random award. External links *Official table trailer *Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin (PDF) Category:Aliens vs. Pinball tables